England captain Ben Stokes has demanded his players toughen up after another embarrassing defeat to Australia left the Ashes hanging by a thread, making clear the team is “not a place for weak men”.

Two Tests into the five-match series and England are reeling, crashing by eight wickets in both Perth and Brisbane and waking Monday to yet more fierce criticism. Facing an almost impossible task to win the last three Tests to regain the Ashes, Stokes wants to see more fire from his players. “There is a saying that we have said a lot here — Australia is not for weak men,” Stokes told the BBC. “A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men either.”